Month: January 2024
Hunter Biden’s Hollywood lawyer ‘sugar bro’ allegedly violated professional conduct rules: Bar complaint
Hollywood attorney and Hunter Biden confidant Patrick Kevin Morris may have violated California’s bar rules with his lavish spending on the president’s son, says a complaint by America First Legal.
The AFL, a conservative legal group founded by former Trump White House senior adviser Stephen Miller, filed the complaint Tuesday with the State Bar of California alleging Morris violated California’s rule that prohibits a lawyer from funding the lifestyle of a client or potential client.
The complaint came ahead of Morris' closed-door testimony to the House Oversight Committee Thursday.
Morris reportedly spent $4.9 million financially supporting the president’s son. Included in the sum was a $2 million loan for Hunter to pay off his back taxes, and $875,000 was a purchase Hunter Biden’s art.
A Los Angeles Times story characterized Morris’s relationship with Hunter Biden as, "foremost as his lawyer, but also his friend, confidant and bankroller." And, when Hunter Biden made a surprise visit to Capitol Hill, last week, he was flanked by Morris and his attorney Abbe Lowell.
"However, if Mr. Morris has provided personal funds to an individual who has now been confirmed to be a client – or who would reasonably believe himself to be Mr. Morris’s client – Mr. Morris would have violated both the text of the Rules of Professional Conduct and the well-established norms of the legal profession," the America First Legal complaint says.
Morris was reportedly scheduled to do a transcribed interview with the House Oversight and Accountability Committee and the House Judiciary Committee this week, as part of the formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden for potential actions or benefitting from alleged influence peddling by family members, including his son.
Specifically, State Bar of California Rule 1.8.5(a), states that "[a] lawyer shall not directly or indirectly pay or agree to pay, guarantee, or represent that the lawyer or lawyer’s law firm will pay the personal or business expenses of a prospective or existing client."
"If Hunter Biden or a similarly situated person would reasonably anticipate that Mr. Morris was obligated to provide legal services, the alleged funding of the lifestyle of a client or potential client justifies the immediate opening of a misconduct investigation under Rule 1.8.5," the complaint says.
On Capitol Hill, and on other occasions, Lowell has been the lawyer who spoke as Hunter Biden’s representative. However, the same Times story said, "Morris strode shoulder to shoulder with the president’s son as they made a surprise appearance at a congressional contempt hearing on Capitol Hill. On Thursday, he is expected to be seated behind him in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom as Hunter Biden is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday on criminal tax charges, much as he did in a Delaware courtroom."
Morris did not respond Wednesday to Fox News Digital for this story after phone calls were made to his firm, PKM Law.
The State Bar of California would not confirm or deny if an investigation was underway.
"By law, disciplinary investigations are confidential, unless confidentiality is waived pursuant to the provisions of Business and Professions Code section 6086.1(b) or (c)," a state bar spokesman said in an email to Fox News Digital.
Trump says Nikki Haley ‘has no chance’ ahead of New Hampshire primary: ‘MAGA is not going to be with her’
Former President Trump said Nikki Haley "has no chance" of winning the 2024 Republican nomination, telling Fox News’ Sean Hannity in an exclusive sit-down interview Thursday that "MAGA is not going to be with her."
Trump, who solidified his standing as the frontrunner in the 2024 Republican presidential nomination race after winning the Iowa caucuses Monday night, now has his sights set on New Hampshire. Trump traveled to the Granite State this week after he dominated his GOP opponents in Iowa by winning 98 of 99 counties. He collected 20 delegates in the state.
Trump, who sat with Hannity in New Hampshire just days before the state’s first-in-the-nation primary, is ahead by double-digits in the polls in the Granite State. But some new polling shows former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and his former ambassador to the United Nations, performing well.
Moderate voters in the Granite State are highly influential, and the state's independents — who can vote in either major party primary — have long played a crucial role in New Hampshire's storied presidential contest.
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu endorsed Haley, but in an interview with Fox News’ Neil Cavuto, he said it was "troubling" that some Democratic voters will "switch" to be independents to vote in the primary.
When asked if that system "bothers" him, Trump said: "It bothers me."
"And the governor should have done something about it," Trump told Hannity. "Instead of wasting his time with Nikki, because she’s not going to make it. She has no chance, she’s got no way."
Trump added: "MAGA is not going to be with her."
Trump said the state’s system is "a bad thing for us."
"Who has a system where Democrats are allowed to vote in the Republican Primary?" He asked. "And New Hampshire is an incredible place. I love the people."
Trump, who won New Hampshire in both 2016 and 2020, said the state is "fantastic," but it needs "a system."
"You need a governor that’s going to get it changed, not just talking about it," Trump said. "He’s talking about it for four years, never got it done, so Democrats are allowed to vote, which they’re going to vote for her, because they don’t want to run against me, they want to run against her."
He added: "It’s a very simple system."
But even if Democrats register as independents and vote for Haley in New Hampshire, Trump said: "I don’t think it’s going to matter."
A daily tracking poll released Thursday morning by Suffolk University, the Boston Globe and NBC10 Boston shows Trump with 50% support among those likely to vote in the New Hampshire primary Jan. 23.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who served as ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration, stands at 36%, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at just 6%.
In that same poll, 4% of respondents said they were undecided, with 1% saying they would back a different candidate altogether.
Trump, reflecting on his presidency — including the years-long Russia probe that clouded the beginning of his administration and the two impeachments — said neither Haley nor Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis "would not be able to handle" the "onslaught" that comes with being president of the United States.
"If I were a softer individual, and I’ll tell you something, Ron DeSantis or Nikki or anybody else, if they were in my position, if they were here, they would have been hit just as hard," Trump said. "These people play tough, much tougher than the Republicans play, and the Republicans have to get tougher."
He added: "But Nikki, I know Nikki very well. She worked for me a long time. She would not be able to handle that position — she would not be able to handle the onslaught."
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Campaign ActionHunter Biden to testify in House impeachment probe, GOP leaders say
Hunter Biden has agreed to testify in a closed-door deposition next month as part of the GOP-led President Biden impeachment inquiry, House Republicans said Thursday. This comes after both the House Oversight and Judiciary committees earlier recommended that Hunter Biden be held in contempt for refusing to comply with their subpoenas.
House GOP is moving swiftly toward Mayorkas’ impeachment
Committee Chairman Mark Green says "no American is safe" under Mayorkas' handling of the U.S.-Mexico border. But Democrats say disagreement over President Joe Biden's policies is not grounds for impeachment of Mayorkas.
Kevin Morris gave ‘massive’ financial support to Hunter Biden, raising campaign finance concerns: Comer
The House Oversight Committee said Hunter Biden’s friend and lawyer Kevin Morris’ "massive financial support" raises "ethical and campaign finance concerns" for President Biden, after the Democrat donor appeared for a transcribed interview before the panel Thursday.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., shared details of Morris’ closed-door interview Thursday evening.
"Kevin Morris’s massive financial support to Hunter Biden raises ethical and campaign finance concerns for President Joe Biden," Comer said.
Comer explained that "shortly after meeting Hunter Biden at a Joe Biden campaign event in 2019, Kevin Morris began paying Hunter Biden’s tax liability to insulate then-presidential candidate Joe Biden from political liability."
"Kevin Morris admitted he has ‘loaned’ the president’s son at least $5 million," Comer revealed Thursday. "These ‘loans’ don’t have to be repaid until after the next presidential election and the ‘loans’ may ultimately be forgiven."
Comer said that since Morris "has kept President Biden’s son financially afloat, he’s had access to the Biden White House and has spoken to President Biden."
"This follows a familiar pattern where Hunter Biden’s associates have access to Joe Biden himself," Comer said. "As we continue more interviews this month and the next, we will continue to follow the facts to understand the full scope of President Biden and his family’s corruption."
Morris told the committee Thursday that he was introduced to Hunter Biden by Hollywood producer Lanette Philips at a Biden campaign event in the winter of 2019 in Los Angeles, California.
Morris testified that he donated money to the Biden campaign, after then-candidate Joe Biden spoke at the event.
A week following the event, the committee said Phillips called Morris,and they "discussed Hunter Biden’s ‘entertainment’ issue."
Morris said he then went to Hunter Biden’s residence in Los Angeles.
The committee said that when Morris began giving money to Hunter Biden in January 2020, there was "no written agreement," but that they prepared an agreement after Morris gave Hunter Biden money.
The committee said that on Feb. 7, 2020, months before the presidential election and during the Democratic presidential primary, Morris emailed tax accountants and Hunter Biden’s advisors saying: "[w]e are under considerable risk personally and politically to get the returns in."
Morris told the committee that he paid Hunter Biden’s taxes, giving the president’s son at least $5 million.
The committee said that Hunter Biden sold "roughly $1.5 million dollars of art, and half of it was purchased by Kevin Morris to reduce the money Hunter owed him."
The committee said Morris also bought two art pieces from Hunter Biden before he had a gallerist.
Morris’s financial support to Hunter Biden includes payments to his ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle, and the mother of his child, Lunden Roberts.
Morris admitted to the committee that the "loans" he provided to Hunter Biden do not have to be repaid until 2025, after the next presidential election, and could be forgiven, the committee said.
The committee said that because of his "lending" to Hunter Biden, Morris had access to the White House. Morris told the committee that he went to the White House several times during the Biden administration. The committee said Morris was given a tour of the White House by Hunter Biden, attended a wedding at the White House, and attended the White House’s Fourth of July picnic.
Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to all nine federal tax charges stemming from Special Counsel David Weiss' investigation. Hunter's trial is scheduled to begin on June 20.
Weiss charged Hunter in December, alleging a "four-year scheme" when the president's son did not pay his federal income taxes from January 2017 to October 2020 while also filing false tax reports.
Weiss filed the charges in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
The charges break down to three felonies and six misdemeanors concerning $1.4 million in owed taxes that have since been paid.
In the indictment, Weiss alleged that Hunter "engaged in a four-year scheme to not pay at least $1.4 million in self-assessed federal taxes he owed for tax years 2016 through 2019, from in or about January 2017 through in or about October 15, 2020, and to evade the assessment of taxes for tax year 2018 when he filed false returns in or about February 2020."
Weiss said that, in "furtherance of that scheme," the younger Biden "subverted the payroll and tax withholding process of his own company, Owasco, PC by withdrawing millions" from the company "outside of the payroll and tax withholding process that it was designed to perform."
The special counsel alleged that Hunter "spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills," and that in 2018, he "stopped paying his outstanding and overdue taxes for tax year 2015."
Weiss alleged that Hunter "willfully failed to pay his 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 taxes on time, despite having access to funds to pay some or all of these taxes," and that he "willfully failed to file his 2017 and 2018 tax returns on time."
Meanwhile, the top Democrat on the committee, Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., on Thursday slammed the House GOP impeachment inquiry.
"Just like every other witness in this colossal embarrassment of an ‘investigation,’ Kevin Morris affirmed today that he has no evidence of wrongdoing by President Biden and that Joe Biden was not involved in, did not profit from, and took no official actions in relation to Morris and Hunter Biden’s relationship," Raskin said. "It is hard to articulate how far removed this interview is from an impeachment inquiry for presidential high crimes and misdemeanors."
Hunter Biden to Appear for Deposition Next Month in Impeachment Probe
The new willingness to testify in a deposition comes after two House committees voted to hold the president’s son in contempt of Congress.
Republicans move forward with Mayorkas impeachment amid emotional testimony; Dems decry ‘MAGA spectacle’
Republicans on the House Homeland Security Committee pushed forward with their efforts to impeach DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas after emotional testimony from two victims of the border crisis, and Democrats moved to have their own hearing and slammed what they said was a "MAGA spectacle" from the majority.
Republicans on the committee all voted to push forward with the impeachment of Mayorkas, who Republicans have blamed for mishandling the ongoing crisis at the southern border. A markup on the impeachment is expected before the end of the month.
"The Secretary has consistently willfully and systematically refused to follow the laws passed by Congress, abused his authority, and breached the trust of Congress and the American people on numerous occasions," the 18 Republicans said after the hearing.
HOUSE HOMELAND GOP CALLS FOR MAYORKAS WRITTEN TESTIMONY; DHS SLAMS ‘BAD-FAITH’ IMPEACHMENT PUSH
"The result of his failure to fulfill his oath of office has been a border crisis that is unprecedented in American history – a crisis that has cost the lives of thousands of Secretary Mayorkas’ fellow Americans," it said.
The hearing itself, the second impeachment hearing, focused on the victims of crime and featured testimony from Tammy Nobles, whose daughter was killed by an illegal immigrant MS-13 gang member, and Josephine Dunn, who lost her daughter to fentanyl poisoning.
"This is not a political issue. This is a safety issue for everyone living in the United States. This could have been anyone's daughter. I don't want any other parent to live the nightmare that I am living," Nobles said.
"In my humble opinion, Mr. Mayorkas’ border policy is partially responsible for my daughter's death," Dunn said, arguing that Arizona has become a "fentanyl superhighway" into the U.S.
But amid that testimony was a fierce political back-and-forth between Republicans and Democrats over the testimony of Mayorkas himself and potential additional hearings. Mayorkas had expressed willingness to testify in-person but had said he couldn’t attend this hearing. Republicans have said the lack of specificity amounts to stonewalling and that they have been trying to get him to testify at a border-specific hearing since August.
DHS pushed back on those claims, accusing Republicans of "playing politics."
"It’s abundantly clear that they are not interested in hearing from Secretary Mayorkas since it doesn’t fit into their bad-faith, predetermined and unconstitutional rush to impeach him. Last week, the Secretary offered to testify publicly before the Committee; in the time since, the Committee failed to respond to DHS to find a mutually agreeable date," spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg said ahead of the hearing.
"Secretary Mayorkas can object all he wants, but the paper trail is clear--he has consistently, tacitly refused to show up," the majority responded on X, formerly known as Twitter, after accusing Mayorkas of "indefinite delays."
On Thursday, the White House weighed in, accusing Republicans of "choosing to play extreme, far-right politics" and of "attempting to scapegoat a Cabinet secretary who is actively working to find solutions to a problem Congressional Republicans have spent years refusing to actually solve."
Democrats on the committee moved on Thursday to request a minority-led hearing, arguing that House rules require such a hearing in an impeachment inquiry. Republicans argued that it is not necessary because they have their own witness at the hearing.
Ranking member Bennie Thompson accused Republicans of having "predetermined the outcome."
HOUSE HOMELAND DEMOCRATS BACK MAYORKAS, SLAM GOP ‘SHAM’ AHEAD OF IMPEACHMENT HEARING
"This isn't a real impeachment. It's a MAGA spectacle, paid for [with] American tax dollars for Republican political gain," he said.
The fight is the latest flash point in the battle over the narrative of the border between Republicans and the Biden administration.
Republicans have pinned the crisis on the Biden administration, saying its "catch-and-release" policies, reduced interior enforcement and rollback of Trump-era border policies have sparked the historic surge to the border, leaving Border Patrol agents overwhelmed and unable to stop the influx gotaways and fentanyl.
The administration has said it is dealing with a hemisphere-wide crisis and needs more funding and immigration reform from Congress. It has also pointed to what it says are a record number of removals since May, greater than in all of fiscal 2019, and record seizures of fentanyl at the border.
House lawmakers will interview Hunter Biden next month as part of impeachment probe into president
President Biden's son, Hunter Biden, will provide a closed-door deposition to House investigators on Feb. 28, lawmakers announced Thursday.